'Operation Fake Sweep' Seizes NFL Streaming Sites, Counterfeits

A number of U.S. law enforcement organizations on Thursday announced the results of what they called "Operation Fake Sweep," confiscating $6.4 million of counterfeit NFL and other sporting merchandise days before the Super Bowl.

A number of U.S. law enforcement organizations on Thursday announced the results of what they called "Operation Fake Sweep," confiscating $6.4 million of counterfeit NFL and other sporting merchandise days before the Super Bowl.

The joint operation between the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and other regional agencies also announced that they had seized 307 Web sites, including 16 sites that illegally streamed NFL games and other pay-per-view events.

The seizures were part of the tenth phase of "Operation In Our Sites," which kicked off in June 2010. In November, the Department of Justice seized 150 sites allegedly selling counterfeit goods. After being seized, each site was replaced with an FBI banner that notified users that the domain name had been seized.

Yonjo Quiroa, 28, of Michigan was charged with criminal infringement of a copyright for illegally streaming games. He operated nine of the 16 streaming Web sites that were seized, the law enforcement agencies charged.

Over 42,692 items of phony Super Bowl-related memorabilia, along with other counterfeit items, have been seized to date as part of the sting, which began on Oct. 1. The agencies estimated the value of Super Bowl-related merchandise alone at $4.8 million  up from $3.72 million last year.

"While most people are focusing on whether the Patriots or Giants will win on Sunday, we at ICE have our sights on a different type of victory: defeating the international counterfeiting rings that illegally profit off of this event, the NFL, its players and sports fans," said ICE Director John Morton in a statement. "In sports, players must abide by rules of the game, and in life, individuals must follow the laws of the land. Our message is simple: abiding by intellectual property rights laws is not optional; it's the law."

As part of the investigation, the agencies also confiscated 22,570 items of counterfeit merchandise and clothing representing other sports leagues, including Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League. In total, this operation netted 65,262 counterfeit items worth $6.4 million, they said.

Editor's Note: The football jersey image used above is for illustrative purposes, and has not been determined to be counterfeit.

Mark Hachman Mark joined ExtremeTech in 2001 as the news editor, after rival CMP/United Media decided at the time that online news did not make sense in the new millennium.
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